Guy Berger

In Chris May's AAJ review of The Thelonious Monk Trio (a classic, must-hear album), he writes: Now, it is an indisputable fact that Monk slowed down as a composer. (This happened well before 1960.) It is also a commonly held opinion (though not a consensus) that Monk's pre-Columbia music is better than his Columbia music. There are lots of interesting explanations for why people hold this opinion and it's fully worthy of discussion in a different thread. But what I'm interested in is the argument that Monk's playing deteriorated in the 1960s. While I've only heard a few of his Columbia recordings, I don't hear it. This may be because I'm listening to the wrong recordings or because my amateur ears aren't discerning enough to pick it up. On the other hand, May might be wrong. It might be simply a case where the knowledge of history (he knows what came first) biases him toward Monk's early playing. Or worse yet, he's simply letting the conventional wisdom about Monk's music leak onto his assessment of Monk's playing. Anyway, enough babble from me. Those of you in the know -- is May right or wrong? Did Monk's playing deteriorate in the 60s? Guy

Happy bday, Robert. Guy

I got this last fall but only listened to it this week. A very, very good album. Guy

Despite being a huge fan as a kid, I'm not planning on seeing the Transformers movie. That said, a premiere with a real live dinobot would change my mind. :rsmile: Guy

I've always thought it was amazing that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the same day (within a few hours of each other). It was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which was drafted by a committee that included both. Guy

I hope it was the copy editor that screwed up Blakey's name... link

Tom, good luck. Be sure to let us know how this develops. Guy

Freakin' Brian Cardenal makes that much? He had a very good season with the Warriors a few years back and finagled a nice contract out of it. Since then he's accomplished zilch. My impression from following the Warriors is that players like Walton, Cardinal and Matt Barnes are very replaceable if your team is run competently. There's no reason to pay them more than 1 or 2 M, and there's always a sucker who will pay more than that. Guy

It's not a bad date, but surely there are many Morgan recordings to pick up before this one. Guy

If so, it's a shame. David Wild was much better. Once someone picks this up, they should do an A/B with the original. It wouldn't surprise me if they edited out the bass and drum solos. Guy

It's what it takes. A few other SF types, some better matches than others: Dunleavy - 8.2 Turkoglu - 6.4 Hapring - 6.0 Brian Cardenal - 5.8 Battier - 5.8 So Luke Walton is not the only overpaid role player in the NBA. I don't think Kwame is still on his rookie contract -- he's been in the league for 6 years. Anyway, previous worse decisions by the Lakers' management don't excuse this bad one. Guy

I shouldn't complain; as a non-European, non-farmer I possibly benefit from subsidized produce. Guy

Out of curiosity, why? Guy

One of the things I look forward to when visiting my relatives in Israel is fresh pita bread. Incredible. The stuff that passes for "pita" here in the US is fucking appalling. Guy

Steve Lacy & Mal Waldron, Sempre Amore (whoops, apparently this is currently unavailable in US so I won't be getting it) Chris McGregor, Brotherhood of Breath & Brotherhood

One of my LEAST favorite Monk tunes is "Teo". Not a bad tune, but definitely a throwaway by Monk's standards. Also, while I like "Bright Mississippi", I think Charles Lloyd's "Sweet Georgia Bright" (based on the Monk tune) is better. Guy

I finally got around to Communique. Excellent! I will have to get Sempre Amore and Live at Dreher next. Guy

One tune that I really love and hasn't been mentioned on this thread is "We See". There are very few Monk tunes that I don't LOVE. Guy

I guarantee that this music will be reissued within 10-15 years, but probably in MP3 format. Guy

The more I think about it, $5M is a lot to pay for a guy that would AT BEST be a 4th option on a championship contender. But maybe that's what it takes in the NBA. Guy

I'm not that familiar with their work but they had a few great songs. Guy

Great album, but recorded well before 1979. Guy

It's a six year deal, so he's not being ridiculously overpaid. That said, his production is completely replaceable by a much cheaper player, and his "career year" was average at best. Guy

So have the profits definitely declined since the reissues started? That's not an implication of JLarsen's argument -- profits may very well have increased. Guy